mySimon Shopping Picks

If your kids liked the Wall-E movie, they will love the Ultimate Wall-E robot. Designed for children ages 8 and up, the robot stands 16" tall and uses 10 motors and 2 microprocessors to play music, dance, talk to you, follow you around, explore, and more, all using the programmable remote control. If it also ran errands and washed dishes, we'd buy one in a heartbeat.

At home we've got a 4+ year-old iMac (the one that looks like a lamp), which we still love except for its crummy fist-sized speakers that do not do justice to our brilliant Pandora radio station preferences. So we're thinking of upgrading to these Logitech Z-5 speakers, because 1) they're omnidirectional (the sound comes out of all sides of the speakers), 2) the sound, while not blow-you-out-of-the-water-amazing, is 1000 times better than what we have now, 3) they connect via USB so there's no enormous power adapter, 4) they work with both Macs and PCs, 5) there's an auxiliary input for other audio sources, and 6) we can get them for $80. More Logitech PC speakers.

Further proof that you can reduce, reuse, and recycle just about anything: An artist on Etsy.com is getting a lot of press for her one-of-a-kind jewelry made out of Barbie doll parts. Shown here is the "Sassy Smile Pin" perfect for lapels, scarves, and anywhere else you want to make a statement. Just what kind of statement, we're not sure. The artist also makes rings, earrings, and pendants, but so far, nothing out of Ken dolls.

If you grew up with Pat the Bunny (or read it to your kids), you'll appreciate this new parody book called Pat the Husband. The book is just as interactive as the classic: You can remove the Velcro pants from the husband and put them on the wife, pull a tab to make the husband nod his head in agreement, and more. Wrap this one up with the Porn for Women 2009 calendar.

Can you believe it's been almost 25 years since The Cosby Show first aired on TV? In its 8 seasons, the show that TV Guide says "almost single-handedly revived the sitcom" won 6 Emmys, a Peabody, and 2 Humanitas Prizes. Find out why with this 25th anniversary commemorative edition Cosby Show box set, which comes with 26 DVDs plus a commemorative hardcover book. Bonus features include an interview with the director, a blooper real, and a new interview with Bill Cosby.

If you're a text messaging addict on a budget - and if you wear tight pants - check out the Pantech Slate. At less than 1 centimeter thick, the Slate is the "world's thinnest messaging device," so it just might fit in the back pocket of your skinny jeans. The phone's slim design, big QWERTY keyboard, and price point ($50 with a 2-year AT&T contract) are its main selling points, but it also offers a 1.3-megapixel camera, wireless Web browser, Bluetooth, and speakerphone. More AT&T phones.

Remember Toms shoes? They're the Argentinian style espadrilles that got so much attention because for every pair sold, the company donates a pair of new shoes to a child in need. Well Toms now makes these crazy wrap boots that seem to be inspired by Ace bandages. They're basically the same as the regular espadrilles, with a long piece of elastic wrap that extends from the ankle. You use that long piece to wrap your legs up however you want - it's held in place with multiple (included) Velcro fasteners. At least this way you don't have to worry if your calves are too big or too small for the boots.

Getting directions from Point A to Point B does not have to cost as much as a cross-country plane ticket for the holidays. Sony now makes an affordable GPS unit that gets the job done nicely for under $200. Available in 3 colors, the Sony NV-U44 has a 3.5" touchscreen, text-to-speech functionality, and dual view mode with lane guidance. It's also got a photo viewer and what Sony calls Gesture Command, which sounds like what we do to drivers who cut us off, but is actually a feature that lets you "draw" on the screen. For example, making an upside down "V" (a symbol for a roof) on the screen means "take me home." More Sony GPS units.

If you are the woman carrying the Acme Made Trixy laptop tote bag this morning in San Francisco's SOMA district, we apologize for stalking you. We were just trying to get a better look at your bag, and the little "Acme Made" tag was so small that we couldn't read it from a respectful distance. We admire your taste in bags, especially after looking this one up. The Trixy is actually 3 bags in one: A rugged, fashionable laptop bag good for businesswomen and students alike; a matching padded and removable laptop sleeve; and a matching zippered and removable accessory pouch. It comes in several colors, but the brown with the pink trim is definitely our favorite. Santa, are you listening?

Pocket-sized camcorders have become quite popular this year, and thanks to the Kodak Zi6, they're now recording in HD. The new Flip MinoHD, a 3.3-ounce camcorder, lets you shoot up to an hour of 720p HD video on its 4GB of internal memory. Connect it to your computer using the built-in USB connection, and use its PC- and Mac-friendly software to you edit your masterpieces with your own music (and add titles and credits) before you publish them online. Have fun with it - make your own holiday greeting videos!

It's raining, it's pouring, but this umbrella's not boring. Turn heads with the Rain Glo umbrella (ella... ella...), the shaft of which lights up, thanks to the built-in LED bulb that never needs to be replaced. Now that it's dark when we leave work, we like the idea of being more visible in rainy rush hour traffic. The umbrella has a 46" arc when open, comes in several colors, and requires 3 AAA batteries to light up.

PC Magazine calls the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD 50" plasma TV "the best HDTV you can get," in part because the 1080p TV "delivers the best picture contrast of any HDTV available" and a "shoo-in" for their Editors' Choice award. CNET agrees, saying "Best-in-class black levels and excellent all-around performance places the Pioneer PDP-5020FD near the top of the picture quality heap." The TV has 4 HDMI inputs, 1 PC input, an antireflective screen, and lets you stream photos, music, and video over your home network. The MSRP is a staggering $4000, but you can get it for less than $2500 online. More Pioneer Kuro TVs.

Welcome to the latest episode of New Adventures in Men's Underwear. In case you haven't been paying attention, women's underwear has kinda peaked with thongs and push-up bras; there isn't much left to do that hasn't already been done. Men's underwear, however, is a different story. For years it was all about white briefs and boxers. Then came solid colors! stripes! boxer briefs! Now it's all about graphics. On the outside you may be Regular Office Guy, with your conservative oxford shirt and khakis, but there's a party going on underneath. And one of the latest guests is Clever, a line of colorful, comfortable trunks with fun designs that include DJs, dragons, frogs, and - our favorite - the punk rocker shown here.

Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. Target now sells a gift card - for as little as $75 or as much as $1000 - that is also a functioning 1.2-megapixel digital camera. Or else it's a digital camera that's also a gift card. OK so that's not much resolution, but it might come in handy when trying to decide what to buy (at Target, of course). The card even comes with 40 free prints from the Target photo lab. The perfect holiday gift for the gadget lover on your list.

Multitaskers on tight budgets might like this small Acer Aspire desktop PC. The space-saving and energy-efficient desktop has an AMD Phenom X3 triple-core processor, HDMI port for expanded connectivity, 320GB hard drive, Vista Home Premium, and media card reader. It even comes with a keyboard and optical mouse. And it's only $480. More budget desktops.

If you've ever seen the Toothbrush Surprise episode of Mythbusters, you know why it's important to keep your toothbrush clean. The Zapi is a portable sanitizer that uses ultraviolet light to kill 99.9% of the nasty things living among your toothbrush bristles. Using 3 AAA batteries, the Zapi cleans manual and electric toothbrushes in just 6 minutes (you'll know it's done when it stops rocking). Choose from several colors.

The Dreamworks hit Kung Fu Panda is now available on DVD, and is sure to turn up in many a Christmas stocking this year. The movie stars Jack Black as Po, an enthusiastic but clumsy panda whose dream is to become a Kung Fu master. Other famous voices you'll hear include Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and Ian McShane of Deadwood fame. The DVD contains 3 vignettes, a "Kung Fu Fighting" music video, information on saving wild pandas, and even a feature on how to use chopsticks.

The new BlackBerry Bold smartphone (RIM changed the name from "BlackBerry 9000") is getting rave reviews. PC World says it's "by far the best BlackBerry yet" and "great for both enterprise users and regular consumers." Gizmodo says it's "RIM's most powerful, polished handset ever." And CNET says the smartphone "impresses with its brilliant display, enhanced productivity tools, and excellent multimedia performance." Features include 3G, Wi-Fi, BlackBerry OS 4.6, Bluetooth, full QWERTY keyboard, GPS, web browser, 2-megapixel camera, and more.

We have a love-hate relationship with Sigerson Morrison shoes. We love their designs but we hate their prices. So we're wondering if anyone's picked up any of the shoes in the Sigerson Morrison line for Target. Some of these ankle boots, pumps, and flats look really cute, and at $30 - $40 the prices are right, but how do they fit and feel? Will they last more than one season? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

It pays to start your holiday shopping now, especially if you know someone who likes cocktail rings. Right now Nordstrom has some Lori Bonn jewelry for 50% off. Using sterling silver handcrafted by Balinese silversmiths, Lori Bonn combines authentic gemstones of every color, from amazonite to turquoise, to create earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelets that will add some sparkle to holiday cocktail dresses.